MORE than 50 disruptive pupils were temporarily excluded from Merseyside schools last year for “sexual misconduct”.

New figures show 5,866 “fixed exclusion periods” were enforced for a range of offences, including racist abuse, violence against pupils and adults, bullying, and drug and alcohol-related incidents.

Wirral recorded the fifth-highest number of “sexual misconduct” exclusions in the north west, with 38 cases.

Sefton and Knowsley each had seven cases, while no incidents were logged under that heading in Liverpool schools.

But city schools were responsible for 2,420 temporary exclusions for racism, violence and drink and drugs in the 2006-07 school year, the most recent figures available.

Critics said the government was failing to take a tough line on problem youngsters in light of the slump in permanent expulsions.

Only 190 children were permanently excluded in Merseyside last year, while the national figure fell from 12,300 in 1997 to 8,680 last year.

In Sefton, 30 were permanently excluded last year, along with 40 in Knowsley, 50 in Wirral and 70 in Liverpool.

But councils said it was up to individual schools to decide what action they took against problem pupils and how they categorised offences.

A Liverpool council spokesman said: “Pupils are disruptive for a wide number of reasons, including bullying, problems at home and learning difficulties.

“We believe every young person deserves an education and try to make sure no pupils slip through the net.”

Wirral council, the highest-ranking Merseyside council for sexual misconduct exclusions, said it had “no specific definition” of such offences, and it was up to head teachers to decide how they were categorised.

A spokesman said: “Each school has a behaviour policy, which sets out its approach to dealing with behaviour and it is for the individual school to determine its sanction and reward system.”

A Knowsley council spokesman said its exclusion figures were proof the safety of children and teachers came first.

He added: “They also show where necessary, head teachers and governing bodies will use serious sanctions against students who verbally and physically assault teaching staff. Such sanctions are only used in the most serious of cases.”